More than half of renter households in the combined Williamsburg-Bushwick area were rent-burdened in 2017–21, spending at least 30% of household income on rent, according to the NYC Environment & Health Data Portal. Against that neighborhood backdrop, St. Nicks Alliance has closed on $26 million in financing to rehabilitate 44 existing affordable homes in Bushwick and East Williamsburg. The area-wide statistic does not describe residents of these specific buildings.
The work covers four buildings across three properties, according to New York YIMBY: two adjoining 16-unit buildings at 984–988 Greene Avenue, a six-unit building at 315 Harman Street and a six-unit building at 19 Kingsland Avenue. The Greene Avenue buildings and the Harman Street property date to 1931; the Kingsland Avenue building dates to 1920.
Income limits and a homeless set-aside
New York YIMBY reports that 28 of the 44 apartments will be reserved for households earning no more than 70% of Area Median Income, and 24 will be reserved for households at or below 50% AMI. Those thresholds overlap; they are not separate unit totals. Under 2026 federal guidelines, the maximum income for a three-person household is $106,890 at 70% AMI and $76,350 at 50% AMI, according to the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. The report also says a portion of the homes will be set aside for formerly homeless residents, but does not specify the number.
Rehabilitation alongside other affordable-housing work
The financing includes a $2.26 million construction and permanent loan from LISC New York for rehabilitation and financing costs, New York YIMBY reports. Other reported sources include HPD’s Participation Loan Program, City Council Resolution A discretionary grants and HPD’s Resilient and Equitable Decarbonization Initiative. The decarbonization funding is designated for electrifying the Greene Avenue buildings’ heating systems.
The rehabilitation is part of a longer record of work by the nonprofit. St. Nicks Alliance says its history includes bringing more than 2,200 affordable homes in 334 properties to market over 41 years through renovation, construction and acquisition, according to its organizational history.
A separate example illustrates the organization’s work on new construction as well as preservation: in a profile dated September 13, 2021, LISC described a St. Nicks Alliance–RiseBoro partnership for 28 affordable homes in three new Bushwick buildings, with $500,000 in LISC predevelopment funding. That project differs from the current deal, which rehabilitates existing homes; the two examples do not establish a broader trend in housing production, according to LISC’s project profile.
